1. Field of the Inventions
The present inventions relate generally to apparatus for inserting an ocular implant into an eye.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a variety of instances where an ocular implant is inserted into the anterior chamber, posterior chamber, cornea, vitreous space and/or other portion of an eye. Exemplary ocular implants include, but are not limited to, lenses, capsular tension rings, ocular prosthesis and lamellar transplants. An intraocular lens (IOL), for example, may be inserted into an aphakic eye that has undergone a cataract surgery or may be inserted into a phakic eye during a refractive surgery. One type of lens is a foldable lens. Foldable lenses are formed from soft material such as a silicone elastomer, soft acrylic, or hydrogel and may be inserted into the eye through a small incision. Lens insertion apparatus, which may be used to push a foldable lens into an eye through a nozzle, generally include screw-type insertion apparatus and push-type insertion apparatus. In both cases, the lens insertion apparatus may include a plunger that is used to push a folded lens through the nozzle into the eye by way of an incision that is relatively small, e.g., an incision that is smaller than the diameter of an IOL optic.
Loading an ocular implant into an inserter can be a troublesome portion of the insertion procedure. The implant may be contaminated, damaged or improperly placed into the inserter by operator, e.g., a surgeon or assistant. Accordingly, in some instances, the insertion apparatus is preloaded, i.e., the insertion apparatus is shipped from the factory with the ocular implant (e.g., an IOL) stored therein. An operator using a preloaded inserter does not place the implant into the insertion apparatus, thereby eliminating the possibility of the aforementioned operator error associated with loading. The IOL or other ocular implant may be stored in an unstressed state and then, prior to the implantation process, folded into a small state prior to being pushed through the nozzle. In some instances, the plunger alone is used to move the lens through the folding and insertion processes. In other instances, insertion apparatus have been configured to fold and move an IOL in stepwise fashion through the use of multiple IOL moving structures. Examples of such insertion apparatus are illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. Pub. Nos. 2011/0082463 and US2001/0007942 and PCT Pub. No. WO 2011/155636, which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present inventors have determined that conventional ocular implant insertion apparatus are susceptible to improvement. For example, the present inventors have determined that conventional insertion apparatus sometimes require the use of both hands when the plunger is driving the IOL or other ocular implant into the eye. In particular, some conventional insertion apparatus that facilitate precise control of plunger movement employ a rotatable handle that is configured, and connected to the plunger, such that rotation of the handle relative to the remainder of the insertion apparatus results in linear movement of the plunger. One hand is required to rotate the handle, while the other hand is required to prevent rotation of the remainder of the insertion apparatus. As a result, the surgeon does not have a free hand that could be used to control the eye or to operate an instrument that is being employed in conjunction with the insertion apparatus.